This is a commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Tomás Luis de Victoria's death. One of the greatest Spanish composers, de Victoria spent his entire life and composed all of his works in the service of the Catholic Church. He composed the well-known requiem Officium defunctorum for the funeral of the late widowed empress, Maria of Austria, in 1603. It is considered the high-point within his oeuvre, combining all elements of de Victoria's thinking and featuring his compositional hallmarks. Also on the album are 3 motets by the same composer which are, like the requiem, not only set for 6-parts but also relate to the topic of human mortality in just as profound a manner. The works are almost unknown today.

American Record Guide, July / August 2012You will not go wrong with this release, but there are other fine recordings that offer different takes on Victoria's final masterpiece. I am especially fond of the recording by Harry Christophers and The Sixteen (Coro 16033; Jan/Feb 2006) for its thoughtful and penetrating eloquence. There the voices are gently accompanied by a chamber organ and bajon. At perhaps the opposite pole is the recording by Cappella de Ministrers and Valenciana Chorus under the direction of Carles Magraner (Licanus 0615; March/April 2007). They have a brilliantly colored instrumental ensemble with the voices to produce a performance that emphasizes the Spanish flavor and the solemn grandeur of a royal funeral. In my review of that recording, I also mention several others.

Reviews

deVictoria Requiem evokes depth of feeling across the centuries

This CD consists of a sixteenth century requiem and three motets—from the title, it might be surmised that there would be a limited audience for such a recording. Then the music begins, a capella, and the listener is whisked away to another date and time. The beatific six-part Requiem by Tomás de Victoria wraps the audience in mourning for the Empress Maria of Austria. Indeed, the listener becomes enraptured within the world of the Spanish Golden Age—that time of great painters, powerful monarchs, new world discoveries, monumental literature, architectural achievements, political consolidation—the megahistory of western Europe.

The booklet in the CD case provides welcome education and notation for the curious listener of this Requiem Mass. Care and technical attention have been given to provide the titles of tracks rather than merely numbering them. English description follows the German. The program is clearly stated, with Latin text easily followed. The KammerChor Saarbrucken is documented as well as is the biography of founder director Geog Grun. German text is provided in a column next to the Latin. The thoroughness and clarity in presentation for the audience is welcome, and bespeaks the German preparation of the CD.

But what sends this performance to the top of the list for quality is the beauty of the voices in song, revealing the enigma and celestial expression of a devoted musician of the Counter Reformation. All the history and compositions of this Spanish priest, educated and groomed in the finest Italian music, come to bear in this lovely Requiem Officium defunctorum. Emotion and sorrow are evoked without distinction of verse or language. Voices blend seamlessly, with never a hollow sound. Pitch, entrances, and phrasing seem effortless; volume and tempi are appropriate throughout. The music carries the message in the twenty-first century as surely as in the seventeenth. Any listener who loves great music can drink deeply from the emotion, religion, and sheer beauty of this presentation.